Clean out plug



F. J. MERSFELDER EFAL CLEAN OUT PLUG June 16, 1931.

Origmal Filed May 18. 192' Reissuecl June 16, 1931 v UNITED STATESPAH-3151.11. orrice FREDERICK J. MERBFELDEB AND PAUL BALZE, OI mewIEBSEY, ABBTGN OBB .lO M. & B. MANUFAGFUBING CO. INC, 01' LEONIA, NEWJERSEY, A OOBPORL'I'ION NEW JERSEY Original No. 1,702,878, datedFebruary 19, 1829, Serial I'Il'o. 198,857, flledhln; 18,- 1987. BQl IIHGIo. 17,588, dated December 17, 1928, Serial No. 361,288, filed Kay 7,1989, ilud subsequently became Beissue ill'o. 17,867, dated May 13,1980, Serial 110. 438,885, fled larch S, 1930.- Thin application forreissue fled February 4, 1931, Serial No. 5133a.

This invention relates to im rovements in drainage clean out devices andas particular reference to detachable members used in connection withclean outs on drains.

5 The ordinary clean out, used in connection made of iron and 1s caulkedinto the hu Since the threaded portions of the body and.-

.20 it becomes necessary to remove the 01 of the pipe or trap, leavingthe brass plug removable for the purpose of cleaning the drain or trap.In many cases the brass plug is lost or broken requiring itsreplacement.

plug vary somewhat as to their diameters from other bodies and plugs, itbecomes very difficult to obtain the size of the new plugcases body fromthe hub and to replace it with a new body for which the lug isfurnished, but this replacement of t e new body and plug involves muchlabor and expense.

Among the objects therefore of this present improvement is to provide amember such as a plug which will fit into threaded cleanout bodies ofvarious diameters and which consequently will eliminate the necessityfor replacing or renewing the body of the'clean out when on] anew plugis required. This object is attained by providing, for example, a newplu having a soft metal thread characterized y an excessive taper wherebthe plug will fit threaded body openin 0 substantially ,varyingdiameters; an another object is to so form the thread or threadedsurface portion of the new plug in an imthat will properly fit the body.In many' proved manner so that the normal yielding or conforming actionof the soft metal may be increased. "p

With' the foregoing and other ob ects in view the invention consists inthe arrange ment and combination of parts hereinafter described andclaimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact detailsof construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose ofillustrating a practical embodiment thereof, reference is had to theaccompanying drawings in which hke reference characters designate thesame parts I in the several views and in which- Figure 1 is a verticalsectional viewof our im roved clean out plug.

ig. 2 is an enlarged sectional or fragmentary diagram indicating therelation of the 7 clean out plug threads to the hard metal bodystructure.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, weshow at 10 a membersuch as a clean out plug which may comprise one or more parts, such as acore 11 of any suitable strong rigid metal such as cast iron andpreferably hollow' for cheapness and lightness, and a facing or collar12 of a softer metal such as lead, a mixture of lead and antimony, ormixture of lead and tin, the collar being molded or cast or otherwiseformed upon the periphery of the: core' 11. The core is preferablyformed with suitable cavities of any desired shape into which the moltensofter metal of the collar will enter during the processof formation ofthe collar upon the core. 7 l

It will be noted that the plug is so formed as to have a substantiallygreater taper than is usually found in clean out plugs or the like.Without intending to be unnecessarily limited to any particulardimensions in this regard, we suggest that the amount of taper should bein the proportion of about three inches to twelve inches in lengthpf theplu While the plug'may be of any desired len it is preferably relativelyshort so as not to obstruct the interior of the clean-out body, and thenumber of threads of the lug may consequently beupproximately equa tothose .on the body.

During he. thread :14 may be cast thereon. This thread may be ofanydesired formation, but it is preferably of V-sha e, sharp somewhat ontop or on the outsi e, but substantially flat on the bottom or inside at15. w

16 indicates a fragment of a suitable hard metal body with which theplug is adapted to co-operate. These bodies are usually formed withsuitable threads of the same general character as foulld on' the plug,that 1s to say, of V-shape, and with relatively formation of the collar12, a

sharp to bod all taper in t e y opening is materi y less than that ofthe plu above described, and ma be zero, and whi e the threads 17 of theb y are practically uniform, the diameters of the openings in the bodiesare by no means uniform or standard. It will be seen therefore that ournew plug having an excessive taper may readily be driven or turned intothe o ening of the body 16 irrespective of a considerable variation indiameter of the body opening. The soft metal component of the plug has awiping or yielding action with the hard metal of the drainage fitting,causing a tight joint even though a close engagement is afforded at onlya small portion of the threaded surface. The plug taper assures aconstantly increasing pressure at the tightly mating threads, affordinga uniformly increasing combined pressure and wiping engagement, and thelatter may increase into a yielding and intimate surface conformingcondition. If a flat root be used, when the tapered plug is so driveninto the body opening, the sharp pointed edges of the threads 17 willbite into the fiat bottoms 15 of 'so metal of the plug collar for anumber of turns and thereby insure a tight and reliable connectionbetween the plug and the body, and, moreover, making a connection whichis separable from time to time as ma be required for clean-out purposesand wit out disturbing the efiective replacement capability of the plug.In either case, every time that our plug, upon removal, is reinsertedinto the clean-out body, the actions above mentioned may occur, inlesser degree than at the first engagement, but sufficiently to assure aperfeet and in fact a constantly improved joint.

The invention finds especial advantage with reference to plumbingdrainage fittings, as these are not generally made with standard sizethreads; in other words, fittings which would otherwise be of the samesize, differ sufliciently in thread diameter so that the ordinary plugfor one fitting will not engage another fitting. ated by this invention,is indicative of one principle of our invention.

We claim:

1. The herein described fitting comprising a member havin a uniformtaper throughout the length t ereof, the thread having a broad root of adiflerent diameter than a thread to engage same, said member having asoft metal 0 y to permit a new thread to be cut' into the said root onenga 'ng said P member with a hard metal threa ed member, the taper ofthe thread of the soft metal member being greater than that of the othermember, the (pitch of the angles of the sides of the threa beingsubstantially the same for both members.

2. A closure member of the character set forth, including a core of hardmetal, a layer s and The amount of of soft metal cast u That difliculty,which is obvion said core, said layer being threaded an havin asubstantially uniform taper throughout t e len h thereof, said threadhaving a broad root 0 a different diameter than that of a thread of ahard metal t-a er threaded device adapted to be engage therewith, saidbroad root permitting a new thread to be cut into said root onengagement with said hard metal taper-threaded device the taper of thefirst mentioned thread being greater than that of the thread of saiddevice, and permitting the closure member to be used with hard metalthreaded devices of different diameters.

3. A clean-out plug for drainage fittings having openings ofsubstantially varying sizes to receive the plug, said plug having anouter threaded surface having a uni orm taper greater in a substantialdegree than that of the thread of the fittings, the threaded surface ofthe plug having a soft yielding metal component engageable underincreasing pressure with successive threads of a portion of a threadedfitting opening to afford a liquid ti ht engagement with the fitting,said taper 0 the plug being sufiicient to cause only a relatively smallsection of the lug to en age in said openings of substantiailly varymgsizes.

4. In combination, a hard metal drainage fitting member having athreaded opening and a-plug member having an outer threaded surface toengage in said opening, one of said members havin a soft metal layeralong which its threa extends so that the entire thread of said onemember has a yielding surface, the thread of one of said members havingsuch substantially different taper than the thread of the other member,that only a fractional section of the plug is adapted to engage in saidopening or in similar threaded openings of various sizes.

5. A member for threadedly en aging a threaded draina e fitting, saidmem r havin a soft metal t read having a substantially uniform tapergreater in a substantial dees than that of the fitting thread said softmetal thread having a flat root to be cut into liy the thread of thefitting.

6, ncombination,aplu havin atapered threaded outer surface an a mem rhavin a tapered threaded opening receivin' sai plug, said surface havingapproximatefiy the same number of threads as said member, the taper ofthe threaded surface of said plug being so substantially different thanthe tar of said opening, that onl a fractional section of the plug 15adapte to engage in said threaded opening or in similar threadedopenings of various sizes, whereby said plu may be used with membershaving threads openings of substantially varying sizes.

7. A clean-out plug having a threaded out- 0 ening for receiving saidplug the ta er of tlie threaded surface of said plug beiiig so Isufficiently greater than the taper of said o ening that onlyafractional section of the p ug may be eng ed with said opening or wit 1similar threa ed drainage openings of various sizes.

8. A clean-out plug havin threaded soft metal outer sur ace adapted toengage with a hard metal drainage fitting having'a'tapered threaded oning, and the plug having approximately t e same number of threads asthe latter, the taper-of the thread of the plug being substantlallygreater than that of the 531d fittin opening to cause only a fractionalpart 0 the plug to engage in said opening or in similaropenmgs ofvarious sizes, whereby said plug may e used with fittings of varioussizes.

9. A member having a tapered threaded soft metal surface for an elementhaving a tapered threaded hard metal portion adapted to engage themember and make tight engagement therewith only at the en aging threads,the taper of the threaded sur ace of said member being so different toa'large degree from thetaper of said portion that only a fractionalsection of the member is engageable with the threaded element portion orwith similar threaded element portions of various sizes.

10. A member having a tapered threaded soft metal surface for an elementhaving a tapered threaded hard metal portion adapted toengage the memberand make tight en gagement therewith only at the en aging threads, theta er of the threaded sur ace of said member eing so difi'erent to alarge degree from the taper of the said portion that on y a fractionalsection of the member is engageable with threaded element portions ofvarious sizes, the thread of the member having a fiat root to be cutinto by the hard metal thread of the element.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

PAUL BALZE.

FREDERICK J. MERSFELDER.

a tapered DISCLAIMER Re. 18,100.Fredericlc J. Mersfelder and Paul Balze,Leonia, N. J. CLEAN OUT PLUG. Patent dated June 16, 1931. Disclaimerfiled July 8, 1935, by the assignee, M. d? B. Manufacturing 00., Inc.

Hereby enters this disclaimer to claims 6 and 7 in said patent, whichare in the following words, to wit:

6. In combination, a plu having a tapered threaded outer surface and amember having a tapered threa ed opening receiving said plug, saidsurface having approximately the same number of threads as said member,the taper of the threaded surface of said plug being so substantiallydifferent than the taper of said opening, that only a fractional sectionof the plug is adapted to engage in said threaded opening or in similarthreaded openings of various sizes, whereby said plug may be used withmembers having threaded openings of substantially varyin sizes.

"7. A clean-out plug having a threaded outer surface a apted to be engaed with a drainage fitting having a tapered threaded opening forreceivin said plug, t e taper of the threaded surface of said plug beingso sufficiently greater t an the taper of said opening that only afractional section of the plug may be engaged with said opening or withsimilar threaded drainage openings of various sizes.

[Official Gazette July 30, 1935.]

